Jeddah Airport: The 'World's Worst'!
01 January 2017
By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
Over time, the city of Jeddah has earned distinction as the gateway to the
Kingdom and rightly so. It is through its ports, both land and sea, that
millions of pilgrims have disembarked on their way to the two Holy Mosques.
It can also proudly boast of having the tallest flagpole in the world and the
tallest control tower at the airport, not to mention the world's tallest water
jet which shoots water more than 300 meters into the air.
More recently, Jeddah has earned another distinction, although not one to be
carried with pride. In a survey, it has been ranked as the world's worst
airport, period! The 2016 Airport Survey was conducted by The Guide to
Sleeping in Airports website which asked travelers ''to rate airports
worldwide based on their overall airport experience.'' They ranked their
experiences based on:
Comfort (Rest Zones & Gate Seating)
Services, Facilities & Things to do
Food Options
Immigration/Security
Customer Service
Cleanliness
This website is in its 20th year and after gathering reviews from passengers,
releases annual lists of distinctions, such as best airport and worst airport.
It reflects the actual experiences of travelers and is not based on public
relations releases by airport authorities about how wonderful their operations
and facilities are.
Over the years this website has drawn a global audience of travelers, many of
whom continue to make it an important stop prior to making their flight plans.
Discriminating passengers like to avoid rundown airports, because as the
website explains: ''These terminals have the continued capacity to make
travelers wonder why they didn't just stay home. Whether its bathrooms that
lack water and toilet paper, or staff who harass and frustrate you, these are
not the places you want to find yourself for hours on end
All we can hope is
that if you do find yourself here, you come prepared with hand sanitizer,
patience, strong bladders and personal entertainment. It could be what saves
your sanity!''
Passengers criticized Jeddah's airport for a variety of factors. ''Cleanliness
is but a mythical concept. The airport is said to be staffed by a team of
immigration officers described as 'careless,' 'arrogant' and 'rude,' and
amenity-wise, the terminal is devoid of restaurants, shopping and
entertainment. During peak hours to say nothing of when the Haj pilgrimage
rolls around the queues are unfathomable, and there are never enough chairs
to accommodate. The thought of sleeping here during a long layover or flight
delay is essentially unattainable. Virtually all aspects of the terminals need
serious improvement''.
Now to be ranked the worst airport in the world by passengers has to be
something that should make airport officials sit up and take notice. After
all, this is not good public relations. It is also something that public
officials do not want to see highlighted as it may reflect on their own
shortcomings.
So when Jeddah airport is ranked the world's worst, one has to wonder. I mean
we handily beat Juba International Airport in South Sudan, a country that came
into being in 2011 when Sudan split up. South Sudan has been stricken with
strife and civil disorder and its infrastructure has a long way to go. So it
is understandable that that country would factor in such a list. But Jeddah
airport where billions of riyals have been allocated and spent over the years?
Billions! That defies reasonable logic.
This is an airport that was scheduled to be completed in 2012. I've lost count
of the number of press reports I have read since then that contained airport
officials' statements that the airport would be operational ''soon,'' so much
so that today I involuntarily cringe when I hear that word (''soon'') in a
social conversation.
However, GACA, our airport authority, was quick to dismiss the report and
exercise damage control. Their spokesman claimed that ''the website's
classification is not based on specific standards to evaluate airports.'' I
will leave it for passengers to decide.
The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
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